


The Light and the Dark

by AcieReyloPawesome



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Anakin looks up to Luke, Anakin stayed in the light and has no remorse for his sister, Angst, Ben pilots the Millenium Falcon, Dark Kingdom vs the Resistance, F/M, Family Fluff, Feels, Future AU, I am so sorry, Padmé wants Anakin to help her find the Gray side, Padmé went to the dark, Rey and Ben are Gray Jedis, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo babies, Reylo baby twins, Reylo children are adults, Set after the war is over, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-27 11:03:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13879524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcieReyloPawesome/pseuds/AcieReyloPawesome
Summary: Decades after peace was reached in the galaxy by Ben Solo and Rey, their children Anakin and Padmé Solo try to stay alive as a new war breaks between them. With Padmé in the dark as Mistress Kira, despreate on trying to escape and find the Gray side of the Force as her parents once did, and Anakin in the light, determined to destroy the dark side completely, even if it means killing his twin sister, there is no telling if peace will ever be restored again.





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue

 

Ben Solo was awakened by two children. 

"Good morning, daddy!" the twins shouted, both full of joy and childlike happiness.

He sat up and grabbed the kids into his arms and ruffled their hair. The older twin, Padmé, laughed and hugged her father tightly. Anakin snuggled next to them shyly and smiled without his front teeth.

"Morning, you little beans! Did you sleep well?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, we did. Daddy, look at what mommy just gave me!" Padmé smiled and held a doll in front of his face. The doll was a Kylo Ren one. It had his black mask, shawl and armor. Ben felt felt slightly embarassed. Little Padmé was strangely fascinated with the dark side and Ben's and her great-grandfather, Anakin's, pasts. So it made sense for her to be excited about a Kylo Ren doll. She already had a Darth Vader one.

"Wow! Did she make that herself?" he pretended to be excited.

"Yeah! Isn't it cool? Can you tell me the stories of you being Kylo Ren again? Please?" the girl's eyes were shining and so full of hope and excitement, that Ben found it near impossible to say no.

"No! The stories of mommy training with great-uncle Luke are way better! And cooler!" Anakin argued, crossing his little arms and frowning. Before Padmé could start arguing, they were interrupted by a voice.

"Alright kids, I'm pretty sure daddy is awake now."

The siblings turned to look at Rey, who stood in the doorway, smirking at her husband. The man returned her smirk. God, he loved this woman. She was like a goddess. She had found a way to his heart many years ago, slowly saving himself from the monster he became because of Snoke and his parents. She had saved him and he loved her for that. He no longer had to lay awake out of pure paranoia and anxiety, the fear of never being as dark enough and getting tortured by his master. Many years then Rey had told him there was still hope, and helped him to take down the Supreme Leader. She had never even considered giving up on him, and it had paid off. They had found the Gray side and ended the war. They had also found love in a hopeless place. 

"Mommy!" the kids exclaimed. "Look, we woke him up just like you asked us to!"

"You sure did", Rey said and smiled more. 

"Mommy! Can you please make me dolls too? Can I have a great-uncle Luke doll and maybe a Jedi legend Obi-Wan Kenobi, too?" Anakin begged.

Rey laughed. "We'll see, Ani."

Then she suddenly felt herself rising to the air and being pulled to Ben's embrace. He kissed her softly and innocently. Then he let go, arms still around her. Rey playfully smacked his head.

"You sly dog, using the force on me! You could've just said.." she said, but she didn't look or sound angry at all. Ben smirked and kissed her quickly again. 

"That's no fun..Also, I just teached Ani and Padmé how to use the force!"

"They're still just practicing.. Sweetie, do you want me to do your hair?" she turned to Padmé. The little girl nodded and crawled over to let Rey style her black hair on her typical three buns. As soon as she was done, Padmé instantly jolted forward, tackling Ben with a hug and giggles. Anakin crawled over to sit on Rey's lap. The woman quietly pet his brown hair and kissed his forehead.

"Count my beauty marks! Count my beauty marks!" Padmé chanted to her father. The siblings had inherited Ben's beauty marks all across their faces and the always competed on who had more.  
Ben chuckled.

"Okay, sweetheart. Let's see.. between your eye brows we still have two.. and over here under your lips there's one! So.. three! Just like always."

Anakin turned to Rey.

"Mommy, mommy, count mine! Count mine!" he begged. Rey laughed and began counting.

"One here on the bridge of your nose.. and two underneath your eye. So.. three!"

"So I win!" the boy cried of joy and blew a raspberry to his sister. Padmé gasped and frowned.

"No, you don't! I have three too!"

"What? No fair!"

"Kids, kids! It's a tie. You both win!"

The two looked confused, but then began cheering and hugged. Rey sighed and snuggled next to Ben. Ben kissed he forehead and whispered: 

"I wish it will always be this way."


	2. Chapter 2

Mistress Kira stared out of the window. The wide galaxy opened in front of her. Millions on stars, and with them planet systems, all of them likely to hold in them the planet the Resistance was hiding on. With the Resistance, there was her brother too. And she knew she had to find him.

"My apprentice. Come. We need to talk."

Kira could hear her master's voice echo in her head. The amount of control she'd unintentionally given her master Sabatan scared her. She had been young and weak, fascinated with the dark side and easily manipulated to join the Sith. And so, soon the female Sith was able to read her thoughts, and sometimes even control them. Kira knew she would someday overthrow Sabatan. But not yet, not when she was still weak and young. But she knew a day would come, when she would be stronger than the master, a day when she would be able to kill her and take her place and not get killed by the rest of the Dark Kingdom. Not yet.

She left the window, and walked over to Sabatan's throne. The woman sat there, draped in black and magenta fabric. Her red eyes were filled with knowledge and power, and Kira immediately felt ready to confirm any or all the wrong choices she'd made. Sabatan's unlimited power scared her. With just a flip of a finger, she could be tortured. Or worse, dead. Sabatan clearly sensed that, because her evil grin grew stronger.

"Mistress Kira. Any luck on finding Rey and Ben Solo?" she said, her voice deceptively beautiful. Her eyes flashed of schadenfreude when she noticed Kira flinch after her parents had been mentioned.

'This woman is such a sadist', Kira thought, bitter, trying to force the tears to stay in her eyes. She missed her parents, god, she missed them so much. She wanted to tell them she was sorry, to beg for their forgiveness, to make them understand that she had had no choice. 

"Answer me, child. NOW." Sabatan's tone of voice turned from mean to angry as quick as a rug being pulled from under your feet. Kira was ashamed and prepared herself for the worst as she looked her straight in to her eyes and spoke.

"No, master Sabatan. I am truly sorry, but their location is still a mystery."

"That's Empress to you, mistress. And I am disappointed in you. You are their daughter, aren't you? You should know how your parents think and where they would hide!"

Kira felt herself rising to the air and being pulled close to Sabatan. The woman stared at her, her brows furrowed and her expression cold and ruthless. Kira didn't resist, she knew what was going to happen. And she accepted it.

"You are weak. You are a disappointment to the Dark Kingdom. You are supposed to be our Sith warrior, but you can't even find where your own former family is hiding! You are stupid enough that you didn't even think of putting a tracker on their ship so we would have some kind of an idea where they are! They are only living Gray Jedis, they must be found and executed! You will never be strong enough. Without me, you would be nothing. And that is why I need to punish you."

Sabatan had a very unique way of torture. She was very good with controlling thoughts and minds in general, but her favorite part was taking someone's memories, especially the extremely painful ones, and toy with them. Show them again. Create new, worse versions of them. Manipulating your mind to think all is lost and you have no one to lean on. Sabatan loved showing people how weak, worthless and alone they were. She loved when they finally reluctantly admitted they were nothing compared to her, she loved hearing just how powerless and useless they were. 

She couldn't help but let out a sinister laugh when thoughts of Kira's past with her parents and brother appeared in her head. Kira's breath shook, she swallowed and squeezed her hazel eyes shut. Their color bothered Sabatan. Them being the color she was born with, rather than red like a Sith's, showed the fact that she wasn't complete dark side user yet. Sabatan knew it was because of her heritage. It was only due to thoughts of her parents that haunted her and kept her from ever being truly loyal to her master.

Kira groaned as she saw her brother in her mind. Anakin stood in front of him, just as he had on the day she had escaped and flown to the Tourmaline. His eyes, reflecting hers, were filled with disappointment and anger.

”So this is the path you've chosen? The path father and great-grandfather eventually regretted choosing? Don't come any closer, you monster. You are no longer my sister.”

Kira's eye shot open and she screamed. 

"NO! Ani, please!"

Sabatan laughed. The tears finally spilled from Kira's eyes and she stared at the ground. It had been just one of Sabatan's illusions. But it had felt so real. It was still a painful memory, remembering the disappointment and disrespect made her feel ashamed of the choice she'd ended up making. 

"Pathetic. Mistress Kira, purify your thoughts of your former family. That is the only way for you to become a Sith. When you find the location if your parents, inform me. You're next task is to kill them."

Kira immediately looked up to Sabatan. Her lips parted and she wiped the tears quickly off with her leather glove. The woman looked pleased with the misfortune she'd made her apprentice feel. Of course she was. She felt no remorse. Her heart was as cold as ice from Hoth. If not colder.

"K-kill them? But..but they just-"

"You know, your father Kylo Ren had a saying when he was younger. Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. It's the only way to become what you're meant to be."

Kira did remember her mother once mentioning him saying that when she was telling the tales of their force bond. Back then, she had mimicked his voice for the sake of comedy, and Kira remembered her and Anakin laughing. She remembered her father laughing and claiming he did not sound like that. She sighed at the memory, and tried her best to block the thoughts as she looked up to Sabatan and spoke confidently for the first time:

"As you wish, my Empress Sabatan."

 

 

Anakin Solo stared at the map. He knew he had to hide it before mistress Kira and the Dark Kingdom could find out which planet the Resistance was hiding on and attack them. He knew the sadistic Empress Sabatan wanted him, the rest of the Jedi and especially the only two living Gray Jedis, his parents. And here he had the map to them. At least for now. God knows how quickly they would leave this location, having the Millennium Falcon after all. 

Anakin remembered the day his sister Padmé turned to the dark side and began calling herself mistress Kira. And now she was no longer his twin, now she was his enemy number one, the biggest threat and he hated her. He hated her for letting everyone, him and their parents included, down. She had ruined the Skywalker family line of having only Light or Gray sided Jedi. She was a disappointment, she could not be trusted. Padmé had became one of those people that Anakin hated. She had known he hated the dark side, and still took the first chance she had to betray the entire family. 

"Anakin? Are you okay?" 

Anakin turned around to see Nova Tico. The girl looked rather worried, her narrow, dark eyes filled with mother-like warmth and understanding. She walked over and placed her palm on his hand. Then she looked up to him and smiled shyly. 

It took Anakin a second to understand. He yanked his hand off of her hold quicker than he'd intended, but he needed to make sure she didn't get the wrong idea. Nova looked both surprised and disappointed, but there was also a hint of hurt in her eyes.

"I'm fine, Nova. And I'm sorry- but I'm a Jedi, you know that. And so are you. So we can't exactly- uhm.. You know.. fall in love."

"Anakin, me trying to friendly hold your hand doesn't exactly mean I'm in love with you", Nova claimed, but her voice didn't sound convincing. Her facial expression and blushed cheeks also didn't help.

"Anyways.. I'm just fine. Just a little.. worried. What if mistress Kira finds mom and dad before I do? I knew they should've stayed with the Resistance..."

"But you do realize that them being here would make it easier for the Dark Kingdom to find us? Then they didn't have to look all across the galaxy, especially since they'd know that we're all in the same place. That's almost the exact same as just handing the Resistance and the Gray Jedis as wrapped present for them. Now they have multiple enemies to look for and fight, so they can't exactly focus on one more than the other. So don't be such a pessimist! Things are better now than they were a few months ago, remember? Also, you do realize that you're not alone in this? There are more people in the Resistance now than there has ever been!"

"Yes, but I feel like it's my responsibility. Because me and mistress Kira.. we.. we used to be related. So I feel like she has to be killed by me."

"Killed? You don't think there'd be even a slight chance of her ever turning?"

"She doesn't deserve a chance, Nova. Not now, never."

"But she's your si-"

"Nova. I said never."

The girl immediately stopped talking and looked down, ashamed. For a second, a silence filled the room. Then she looked up again, straight in to Anakin's eyes.

"You can do it. I know you can."

The girl smiled joyfully. Anakin huffed, but smiled back. 

"Thanks Nova. You do always know how to cheer me up."

Nova blushed and began stuttering. Anakin regretted complimenting her. It always resulted in this.

"D-do I? Really? I-I mean sure, why wouldn't I? Y-you know, I always.. always can do that! Wait what? I mean.. I can always- eh, whatever. I'll just- go now. Bye."

Anakin cringed after Nova had left the room. As much as he appreciated the girl's friendship and loyalty, he knew she was in love with him. But he didn't have time for love. First he had to end the war. But then again, he had chosen he might never marry and stay a hermit for the rest of his life, just teaching new force-sensitive kids to Jedis. 

He looked back to the map. He sighed, and closed it.


	3. Chapter 3

She sat on the ground, tears falling from her eyes like a waterfall. Her dolls, a Darth Vader and a Kylo Ren, were on the ground, in front of her. They were ruined. Ripped. The filling had been pulled out almost completely from the Vader one. She sat behind one of the huts, quietly crying alone.

"Padmé? Why are you crying, sweetheart?" 

She looked up and saw her father Ben. She instantly got up and jumped to hug him. Ben hugged her and let her cry to his shoulder. Then the girl let go and sniffled. She pointed at the broken dolls on the ground. Ben gasped, picking the dolls up and studying them. All the hard work Rey had put to making them was now worth nothing. That made him angry. Not only did someone hurt his daughter by destroying her favorite toys, but also they disrespected his wife by turning the making of the dolls into a waste of time. He instantly turned to crying Padmé, who sniffled and stared at the ground.'

"Who did this?" he demanded, anger boiling inside of him. Padmé didn't look up, and instead just whispered:

"Don't hurt him, I'm sure he didn't mean it.."

Immediately Ben knew who she was talking about. He sighed, and stood up. Padmé began panicking, thinking her father was going to look for him and punish him. 

"Dad, please, he didn't-"

"I'm not going to punish him, Padmé. But I am going to talk to him about it."

Ben walked up the rocky stairs. He walked to the place where he knew Rey was teaching a bunch of younglings. And there he was, sitting on one of the stone benches, oblivious as to what had happened.

"And then, Ben killed his old master Snoke and made sure that a man that evil could never rule again. Oh, there he is now!" Rey came running to her husband and kissed him quickly. 

"Yes, hello, younglings. I would actually like to borrow Rey and Anakin for a second, if that's okay with you."

Rey looked confused, but then turned to Anakin and motioned him to follow. Ben told them to follow and took them behind the stone hut that he had left Padmé behind.

"What is it, Ben? Why did we need interrupt the lesson? Today was supposed to be the day they all get padawan braids!" Rey asked, trying to make eye contact.

"I'm deeply sorry for interrupting, but this can not wait."

Anakin's facial expression turned visibly more anxious as he saw his sister. The girl didn't even look him in the eye.

"Padmé darling! What on Jakku happened to your dolls?" Rey asked, immediately kneeling in front of her and petting her cheek. Padmé let a few sobs escape from her mouth. 

'Over dramatic', Anakin thought and rolled his eyes, but his expression turned back to scared as Ben turned to look at him. 

"Anakin, do you have something you would like to confess?" his father asked, his expression angry, but still at the same time cold.

Anakin looked at Padmé again and his brows furrowed. 

"Argh! YOU! You told them, didn't you?!" he yelled. 

"Anakin! Did you do this?" Rey's tone was so full of shock, that Anakin felt ashamed. If his father was unhappy with him, it didn't matter, but having his mother be disappointed in him was something he couldn't handle.

He remained silent, staring at the ground and felt the tears burning in his eyes. Why did Padmé have to tell?

"Anakin, answer me", his mother demanded, her voice defiant and slightly angry. There was no point in arguing or staying silent, he knew Rey could break him like a Porg egg.

"Yes, I did. B-but I was only playing 'destroy the dark side'! They had to be destroyed!" he began stuttering. 

"Ani, we are not teaching anyone to 'destroy' anything! Remember, the Force had to stay in balance, and that is why we're teaching the Gray side of the force, not the light or the dark! The force won't be in balance if the dark side is in power, but neither will it be if the light side is in power. And destroying your sister's favorite toy- that's just mean!"

Anakin shuddered and began crying. Rey's angry expression softened, she stood up and pet his brown hair. 

"Just apologize to your sister and everything will be fine."

"Uh.. I'm sorry, Padmé.. I promise I won't do it again.."

"You couldn't anyway, there's nothing left in them!" the girl cried. 

Rey gave Padmé a concerned look, before turning back to Anakin.

"Sweetie, maybe you could help me repair the dolls. Does that sound okay?"

Anakin sniffled, but wiped off his tears and nodded. 

"Good. Now, I must return to teach the younglings. Ben, could you tell Jackson to watch the kids? It would be nice if you accompanied me on the lesson."

"Of course. Kids, go find Jackson and tell him I sent you, okay?"

Padmé nodded and took the remains of her dolls. Anakin stared off to the horizon. He saw the rock that the noble Luke Skywalker had died on. Luke was his hero. Not only did he teach Anakin's mother, he also had brought back peace into the galaxy by killing the evil Darth Vader. Until Ben had ruined it, of course..

"Ani, are you coming?"

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

Anakin's eyes slammed open. He instantly sat up and breathed rapidly. What was that dream? No, not a dream, a memory. A memory from the time his parents had held a Gray Jedi school on Ach-To in the memory of great-uncle Luke. A memory that included Padmé...

Anakin groaned and rubbed his eyes. Harriet Dameron, who slept in the same room, turned to look at him and looked concerned.

"Dude, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah.. just fine, Aqua."

Harriet had been given her nickname because of her turquoise eyes, that she had inherited from her unknown mother. Her father, Poe, was the only one who actually knew who the mother was. The only thing anyone else knew was that she had been dead for many years.

"Are you sure? You're sweating."

"I said I'm fine, Harriet."

The girl immediately shut up and looked offended. She tskd, sighed and rolled her eyes. She got up from the bed, walked up to behind Anakin and surprised him by starting to massage his shoulders. Anakin got startled, but soon sank into the nice relaxing feeling.

"Does this help you?" she asked, her voice soft and barely louder than a whisper. Anakin didn't answer, just whimpered.

"H-harriet.."

"Chill, I'm not into you. Asexual, remember?"

Harriet soon stopped and sat down on the bed next to Anakin. She had the most relaxed expression on her face and brushed her dark brown curly hair behind her ears. 

"So. What was the subject of your nightmare?"

"Why do assume it was a nightmare?" Anakin asked quickly, slightly embarrassed. 

"Dude. You instantly sat up, you're sweating, you hyperventilated, and also, you denying it, which is the biggest piece of proof."

"Well it wasn't a nightmare. It was a... memory."

Harriet gasped slightly, and soon brought her hand to Anakin's shoulder. 

"About.. Padmé?"

Anakin brushed Harriet's hand off of his shoulder. He quietly nodded and remained silent.

"Aqua?"

Both turned to look to the direction where the voice had came from. Nova stood in the doorway. Her eyes were filled with hurt and frustration. She had let her hair down. Anakin felt his cheeks warm up.

"Nova. Why are you awake?"

"Mom died three years ago today. It's kind of a heavy topic, so.."

Rose Tico had died years ago in a battle against the Dark Kingdom. Nova had fallen into depression, being only 17 back then after all. Rose's husband, Finn, had also been horribly sad, but nowadays he was together with Poe, making Harriet and Nova step-sisters. Anakin remembered his previous conversation with the girl and thought back to when she'd said maybe mistress Kira deserved forgiveness, which was strange, given that her own mother had been murdered by the same place she worked for. 

"Oh. Um.. sorry."

"It's nothing, Ani."

"Don't call me that."

Harriet quietly stood up from the bed and left the room, leaving Anakin alone with Nova. The scene was awkward.

"So... why are YOU awake?"

Anakin had already forgotten about the dream-memory. Remembering it again made him groan.

"A.. dream. Memory dream. Of.. my ex-sister. So.. yeah."

"I'm telling you, Anakin, everyone deserves another chance. Even mistress Kira. Or... Padmé."

"And I'm telling you, Nova, to stop putting your nose into everyone's business! Not everyone needs your kriffing advice about life!" Anakin snapped. The mention of the name of his sister made him feel such fury and wrath he couldn't control himself. Nova got visibly horrified. She gasped, and soon the tears escaped her eyes. God, he had made her cry..

Nova ran out of the room, sobbing. Anakin extended out his hand, and yelled after her:

"Nova, please wait! I didn't mean it!"

Silence sunk into the room and soon all he could hear were the desperate sobs from Nova's room.


	4. Chapter 4

A knock on the door interrupted mistress Kira’s sleep. She groaned, rubbed her eyes and got up. 

”A second!” she shouted, walking over to her closet and quickly pulling on the black shoulderless dress, and tights, boots, gloves and a cape of the same color. 

As soon as she was dressed, she slid the door open with force and an R4-unit rolled in. The droid wished her a good morning when she walked over to her makeup table, yawning. Kira answered with a sigh as she searched for eye liner. 

She began lining her eyes with the black liquid, when R4 began telling the news that would make her shocked.

”We know what planet the Resistance is hiding on, mistress. It is the planet Inaria. Please inform the Great Empress Sabatan and tell us what she decided”, the droid beeped.

Kira almost messed up her eye liner. She turned around quickly to look at the droid, shocked. Just yesterday they’d had no idea of the location. 

Her heart began beating faster as her anxiety grew. Of course Sabatan would want to set a course for the planet. The trip to Inaria would take two days, but Kira knew her master would demand hyperspace. Then she’d have no chance but to confront his brother and steal the map to her parents. And then she’d have to find them, and kill them. And if she didn’t.. 

Flashes of the memories Sabatan had made her endure the previous night made her shudder and the tears burned in her eyes. Then the Sith would twist her mind to thinking she was alone.. It was either killing her parents or eternal torture.

And Kira didn’t know which was worse.

 

The wooden staffs clashed to each other. Anakin twirled and hit Nova’s one hard. The girl laughed and ducked as he tried to hit it again. She twirled and knocked Anakin’s staff off of his hands, leaving him defenseless. Nova placed her staff behind his feet and knocked him off his feet. The boy fell to the ground, and groaned.

”Ha! Told you I’d beat you”, Nova gloated, smirking and flipping her hair.

”I went easy on you, because you’re a girl”, Anakin tried, but was instantly silenced by Nova hitting his head with the staff. 

”Don’t you use that sexist sh*t on me now, Ani- I-I mean Anakin.”

Anakin laughed awkwardly, rubbing his head. 

”What if we try fighting with the sabers for once?” 

”Wouldn’t that be wasting them?”

”Nova, we need to train. Let’s just give it a try.”

Anakin whipped out the green lightsaber he’d inherited from great-uncle Luke. Nova used the force to call her blue one to her hand. 

”Ready?”

”Ye-”

The conversation was interrupted by loud alert sounds. Finn bursted into the training room, yelling:

”Nova! Anakin! We gotta go!”

”Dad! What’s happening?” Nova asked.

”The Dark Kingdom has found our base. They’re attacking us!” 

Anakin’s eyes widened. They’d been found. His heart began beating faster as he realized she was here. Mistress Kira was here. Padmé was here.

He ran after Nova and her father, who were headed to the X-wings and TIE fighters.   
Then he realized he’d have to save the map. If he were to leave it there, Kira would find it and god knows what she’d do with it.

He turned around to run to the hall where he’d left it.

”Anakin! What in the name of the force are you doing?!” Finn yelled.

”The map! I have to go get it before she does!”

”Just don’t die! Your mom would kill me if you did..”

”Yeah, thanks!”

As Anakin ran towards the hall, thoughts ran through his head. So many ’what if’ scenarios played in his head that he was close to tears. This was his one chance to prove to everyone that he was the new Luke Skywalker. That he would do just like his great-uncle and destroy the dark side. 

But what if he couldn’t do it? What if he failed? That would be the end of him.. he’d let down his parents, most of all his mother. He couldn’t let that happen. 

Anakin tried to remain confident in himself as he finally arrived in the hall, but the anxiety was tearing him apart. He groaned and tried focusing on the fact that he had to find the map.

He ran over to the table, but the digital map wasn’t there. He knew it was a holo tablet. It wasn’t on the table.

His heart began beating faster. He didn’t have any time to waste. God, where had he left it during that awkward conversation with Nova?   
Anakin kept opening drawers, until finally, he spotted it on the desk. He grabbed it and sprinted out of the room as fast as possible.

He was ran to the hangar, but then he noticed the lack of the X-wings. They were all gone. 

He was alone.

Heart thumping in his ears, tears burning in his eyes, he despreatly ran around in the hangar, trying to find any ship that could fly. No luck. 

Anakin ran his fingers through his hair as panic grew inside of him. He could see the Dark Kingdom ship, the Tourmaline, had been landed a few ten metres from him.

She was here.

Anakin was not ready to face her. Not yet. It had only been 5 years since they’d seen each other. Too soon.

As the ship’s door opened, mistress Kira stepped out into the beautiful nature of Inaria. It was a shame she had to be here on such an unfortunate mission.  
As the mistress located Anakin, he realized he was frozen. Not because of her, though, but instead himself. He was frozen out of fear. The woman began taking long steps forward, and that was when he finally began running. He ran to the deep forest of Inaria, and he was more scared than he had ever been. He had never actually battled a dark side user.

Anakin ran, trying his hardest not to trip on rocks and tree groots. He had to escape. He had to.

But his sister had always been fast, and five years hadn’t changed it. She quickly caught up to him.

Anakin stopped. Now was his chance. He could finally rid the galaxy of evil. He turned around, whipping out the lightsaber.

”Go ahead, mistress Kira. Fight me.”

He looked her straight into her eyes, and was taken back by the fact that her eyes weren’t orange and yellow like he’d expected them to be. Instead, they were hazel like his own. 

The woman looked heartbroken when she began speaking. 

”Anakin, please! I don’t want to fight you! You’re still my brother and I still love you!”

Anakin’s anxiety and panic soon turned to anger. How could she treat the situation as if she was the victim?

”You know no such feeling, you monster! Fight me or die.”

”You don’t understand. I need the map. Otherwise the Great Empress Sabatan will torture me for the rest of my life!”

”So? That’s what you deserve! You let down our parents and chose the darkness! You deserve no mercy!”

”I had no choice! Sabatan would’ve killed you, mom and dad if I didn’t!   
And do you honestly think that what you’re doing is any closer to what our parents wanted than what I am? This is not restoring the balance in the galaxy, this isn’t the Gray side, you’re just killing for fun! You’re no better than Sabatan!”

The last comment made the fury burst inside of Anakin. He roared and clashed his lightsaber to Kira’s. He twirled, thrusted and hit everything he could. His lightsaber hit Kira’s unprotected shoulder and she cried of pain. But she didn’t lose focus, no, she was now even more determined. As Anakin kept on fighting furiously, Kira was serious as ever and just stared at him with her hazel eyes. The eyes reminded him so much of his mother, that he lost focus.

Kira clashed her red lightsaber to Anakin’s, soon flipping it off of his hold completely. She let her lightsaber hit him on the cheek, making him fall to the ground.  
She used the force to call the holo tablet to her hand.

Anakin looked up to her, now frozen in place by her, his eyes full of hatted and wrath. She knew she had to go now or she’d die.

”I’m sorry, Ani.”


	5. Chapter 5

Rays of sunlight woke Rey up. They shone directly to her eyes and she squinted at it. She sighed, sat up and looked out the window. The view to the horizon was beautiful, golden sunlight emerging from between the Takodanian trees and blinding anyone with its gorgeous brightness.

Rey sighed again, pleased with the beautiful view, and turned to look at her husband. Sleeping Ben's long, braided hair was messy and his lips were slightly parted. Even though he was already in his 50s and his face was slightly wrinkled, the man still looked just as beautiful and innocent as he had on the day they'd met many decades ago. Rey walked over and placed her small hand on Ben's cheek. She softly let the palm travel up the scar that still remained on his face, always reminding them of their first, unpleasant encounter. 

Ben reacted to the touch almost immediately, his lips closing, his eyes squeezing more shut and then opening. His confused expression soothed down to pleased one as he saw his beautiful wife. He still couldn't quite understand how he'd gotten such an amazing woman as Rey to do as much as to fall in love with him, but he knew he loved her more than words could describe. He smiled, and placed his own hand on top of Rey's. 

"Good morning, beautiful", he murmured, yawning and sitting up on the bed. 

"Funny, I was just about to say the exact same thing", Rey murmured back, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer as he stretched his arms.

Ben chuckled and slipped a kiss on her forehead. It was another beautiful day hiding on Takodana. They'd been on this planet for 3 months, hiding from the Dark Kingdom and at the same time, the Resistance. 

Mistress Kira, or Padmé, wasn't the only threat. She was of course dangerous, under the control of a Sith lord. Or in this case, a Sith lady. Rey and Ben both knew that the Great Empress Sabatan wanted them dead, because they were the only living Gray Jedis in the galaxy. And this couldn't all be the work of Kira herself, she was far too weak, but also far too light. She was so close to finding the balance, but yet so far from it.

Rey had known from the day that Padmé was born that she would never be purely light. But that seemed good, she never intended for anyone to graduate the Jedi school as a purely light or purely dark. She wasn't purely light or dark, either. Neither side could be dominant or the force would be imbalanced again. The Gray side was the balance, and that was why she and Ben had founded the Gray Jedi school. 

This was why she'd been disappointed when her children both went straight to the opposite extremes. Anakin may have claimed Padmé to be a disappointment and that she'd let down the family, even though he himself was no better. Rey had never wanted Anakin to hate the dark side, she never wanted him to want to destroy it. The boy was proud and arrogant and his attitude towards the dark side was a problem. 

Rey and Ben weren't exactly in good terms with either of their kids. Rey remembered the scolding she'd given her son the last time she'd seen him. 

"Anakin! This isn't what I wanted from you! This isn't what anyone wanted from you! Do you think your great-uncle Luke would be proud of this? Killing every dark sider without a hint of remorse? No! That's horrible!" she had said.

And of course, Padmé. Obviously they hadn't parted in good terms. Padmé had barely looked her parents in the eyes when she'd stolen an X-wing and left. Rey missed her more than she could imagine.

Rey got up from the bed, dressed up in the gray clothes and stretched. Ben rubbed his eyes and gazed upon his wife. The beautiful woman bathed in the sunlight, the light gleaming from all around her. Once again, it was Rey again showing him the light in him.

The woman walked out of the stone hut they'd built. Ben soon followed after her, stopping to stand next to her and wrapping his arm around Rey's body. Rey leaned to him and sighed, staring into the sunrise.

"Do you think Padmé will ever return? From the dark?"

Ben remained silent for a second, staring into the horizon. 

"I hope she will."

"I believe she will. Maybe.. maybe she someday can find her brother and.. they can find the Gray side. Together. I know they could do it. I just don't know if they have the strength to do it.."

"I love her. I want her to come back. I miss her so much.."

"I believe she will return."

"I.. I have returned."

 

Rey and Ben both turned to look to the direction they'd heard the voice come from. There, in front of them, stood Padmé Solo, dressed in black to be mistress Kira. Her hazel eyes were filled with confidence and strength, but Rey could swear she saw a flash of insecurity. And who could blame her? Seeing her own parents she'd let down and abandoned for the first time in five years isn't an easy task to do. Especially when you're sent to execute them.

"I.. I'm back."

"Padmé.."

Kira wanted to object to being called her real name, but found herself unable to. It made her heart ache that her mother still considered the chance of her returning. She wanted to return, she wanted that more than anything, but as long as Sabatan was alive, she knew she had to obey her instead of her heart.

"I.. I've been sent here to kill you."

Ben nodded. Rey began crying. 

"We understand. We will not fight back. Do it."

This surprised Kira. She always thought that her father would never back down from a fight to defend. But no, there he stood, no lightsaber or any kind of weapon in range, telling the threat with a weapon to do her worst and not hold back.

"Wh-what are you saying?"

"If you truly are that evil, kill us. Kill us and take our dead bodies to your master. Make her proud." Ben's tone was dead serious and Kira felt breathless.

She took a deep breath, and slowly ignited her red lightsaber. She took a step forward, raising the saber higher and staring into the dark eyes of his father. 

"Do it", he whispered. Tears escaped Kira's eyes and she began shaking.

"I.. I can't do it", she finally let out with a sob. Her lightsaber dropped to the ground and she fell to her knees. Crying uncontrollably, she took her hands and put them over her eyes. 

Soon, she felt Rey's and Ben's arms around her. They were holding her.

"I knew you wouldn't. You are strong, my darling. You are so strong and I am so proud you were able to resist the dark side", her father whispered, crying himself.

"We always believed in you, Padmé. We believed you'd be smart and strong and not give in to the extreme.."

"I can't go back. I can't. Sabatan will.."

"Kill you?"

"No. She doesn't kill. She just.. tortures. She tortures people with their worst memories. And.. every time I'd fail, she'd force me to see you two... telling me how disappointed you are in me. For- for five years. And it felt- horrible. I thought you would want to kill me the first time you'd see me, but.."

"My dear, you're back now. And you're safe. And we love you."

"And.. I have a plan."

 

The door to the throne room slid open and the three stepped in. Ben and Rey were handcuffed, Kira walking behind them, forcing them to move forward.

"Child.. have you done what I asked you to do?" Sabatan voice echoed in the room. Kira shuddered.

"I have brought you the two last living Gray Jedis, just like you asked me to, master Sabatan", she answered, voice serious.

"Very good.. Guards, you will not be needed. I want to show these pathetic life forms they couldn't beat me even if they tried. You can go."

The guards looked confused, but obeyed and walked over to the elevator and closed the door. The Sith woman sat on her throne, played with her blonde hair and grinned. She leaned forward to Rey and Ben.

"So... you are the famous only living Gray Jedis. Hmm. You don't look that.. threatening. More like.. pathetic."

Sabatan laughed, placing her other leg over the other. She loved this, asserting dominance over people who thought they were all that. She thought nothing could ruin it.

"Why so silent? Hah ha, afraid to speak with the Great Empress?"

The arrogance of the empress disgusted Rey and it reminded her of Snoke. Maybe they were related. 

"I don't think sending the guards away were such a great idea on your part, Sabatan", she said calmly.

"It's the Great Empress Sabatan to you, child! And tell me, whatever do you mean?"

Kira stepped in front of the Sith, lifting her gaze to stare into those orangish yellow eyes and said:

"You're getting betrayed, b*tch."

Three lightsabers flew through the air and stabbed Sabatan. The look on the Sith's face was shocked, filled with insecurity.

"You were.. supposed to be my.. best student.." were final words she croaked out. 

Kira sighed. She was gone. The Sith was gone. Her mind was no longer poisoned. She was free. 

Padmé laughed. Then she fell to her knees, sobbing and laughing at the same time. Rey rushed to her side, turning her head to look into her eyes. 

"Sweetie, are you okay?" she asked, worried.

"I'm better than I've ever been, mother. I can't hear her voice in my head anymore!" Padmé yelled. 

"You're free, sweetie."

"I'm free."


	6. Chapter 6

"Anakin, wait!" 

The boy turned around. The young Padmé stared at him, crying. Anakin felt the tears stinging his own eyes as well. He stopped. His sister stood there in front of, and his brows furrowed at the sight of her. 

This dream. It was a memory again, and Anakin clenched his teeth. The idea of having to watch all of this again, years after it'd happened, made him so angry he couldn't describe it. 

"What?" he heard his own voice say, even though he hadn't said a word. 

"Please, I'm sorry.. This is the only way!"

"The only way for you to disappoint your family, yes!" Anakin threw his hands in the air, remembering the fury he'd felt that night.

"Please.. it's the only way. You- you don't know what she is threatening to do, I just want to save you-"

"Save me? SAVE ME?! THE ONLY WAY YOU'D SAVE ME WOULD BE BY DISAPPEARING ALTOGETHER!!" he roared, instantly regretting it. His young sister flinched at the words. More tears escaped her eyes and she didn't even attempt to wipe them. Why could he never think before acting?

"I'm sorry", she whispered. Then she turned around, running to the hangar where the X-wings were kept. 

"PADMÉ!!! Anakin screamed.

 

His eyes opened. He could feel someone was in his room. He sat up and looked around, trying to ignore the dream he'd just had. 

"But why would you ignore it?" 

Anakin turned and his eyes widened when he saw the ghost of his great-uncle Luke. Shining blue, dressed in similar robes as Anakin himself, the Jedi Legend hovered there, right in front of him.

"My dearest Anakin, do you know how I defeated the dark side?" he asked calmly.

Anakin swallowed, processing the fact that he was here. 

"O-of course, master Skywalker.. You killed Darth Vader, even though he was your own father!" he stuttered.

"Impressive."

Anakin smiled, surprised. He'd done something right and his great-uncle was proud of him-

"Every word in that sentence was wrong."

His smile deflated and Luke bursted into laughter.

"You- you should see your face, hah ha! I used to do this to your parents ALL THE TIME!"

Anakin's gaze fell to the bed, and he felt embarrassed. Why was he so stupid?

"But real talk now, don't call me 'master' or anything. I'm your great-uncle so treat me like one."

The boy nodded quickly.

"And I never wanted to kill Darth Vader- er, Anakin, to be sure. You do realize you were named after him?"

He didn't. This was all new information to Anakin and his facial expression made Luke understand.

"Ahh.. of course. That is so like Ben to name his son after his own grandfather and not tell him. But anyway, I didn't kill Dar- Anakin. I was very close, but that would've driven me to the dark side. I went to his ship, sensing he couldn't really be as evil as he claimed to be. I gave him a chance, and he took it. We saved the galaxy together, and he showed me how much he cared about me by sacrificing himself.  
Similar to that, Padmé isn't as evil as you like to paint her to be. She is struggling, and she needs you to give her a chance. She'll take it, I promise. And then you can save the galaxy together as well. But- hopefully in a way that doesn't involve you or her dying."

Anakin looked up from the blanket he'd been staring at, only to find out Luke was gone. His lips parted, he still had stuff to say, but now it was too late.. If Padmé had found their parents and killed them, everything was lost. 

"Anakin.."

"Harriet! What is it?" Anakin asked. The girl had appeared on his door.

"They're.. they're here. Your parents."

 

Padmé stepped out of the Millenium Falcon, squinting her eyes in the bright sunlight of Matonia. The new location of the Resistance was picked pretty well, she thought. The planet was hidden and had all things required for life; food, water, shelter and livable weather conditions. 

She could see some of the people of the Resistance looking slightly displeased to see her again. Clearly many people thought she'd be here to kill them. But she had gotten rid of her former black outfit and changed into a gray one. She wanted not to look intimidating.

"REY!!" 

Finn ran from the inside of the base faster than Padmé had ever seen him or anyone run. Rey smiled and hugged the man as he ran to her. Ben stepped out of the falcon.

"Alright, alright, that's enough", he said, putting his arm between the bodies of the two. But they could all see he wasn't angry. Just joking.

"Afraid you're going to lose a woman who has claimed to love you for over 20 years? Please, I don't think so!" Finn replied, putting his hands up in the air.

"Besides, just between as guys, I think I'm more into Poe", he whispered to Ben, who chuckled.

"And who do we have here- is that you, Padmé? You finally returned? Or- or is it Kira?" Finn turned to her.

"It's.. Padmé. And yes.. I'm back. No more mistress Kira."

"She came to our hiding place to kill us, but in the end, she was too pure to do it. So we went to the Tourmaline and.. let's just say that empress Sabatan won't be controlling the galaxy anytime soon", Ben said, putting his arm around his daughter's shoulder.

"You're... back."

They all turned around to see Anakin standing a few meters away from them. His brown hair flew in the wind. Padmé had always been jealous of her brother's great hair, he had inherited his perfect hair texture from their dad. 

"Ani.. I.."

"Can we.. talk in private, please?"

Padmé glanced at her parents, who nodded. 

"Yeah, I guess.."

Anakin tried to think of a clever way to express himself as they walked aside. What could he say? The last time they'd actually met in person he'd called her a monster. How exactly can you make that up to someone?

"So.. I guess you heard what happened.. the whole 'I can't kill you so let's just kill Sabatan instead'-thing.. uh.. yeah. That happened."

"And are you.. light now?"

"No. I don't think I ever will be. But I'm trying to learn how to be gray again. Mom and dad are teaching me."

"That's.. great."

Awkward silence surrounded them. They hadn't seen each other in such a long time that they didn't really know if to act friendly or like you act to a stranger. 

"Listen, I am so sorry. All the things you said about me, they were all true. I was stupid and I shouldn't have been so easily lured to the dark side, but Sabatan.. she threatened to kill you. She said she'd kill you, and mom and dad. And I.. I just thought that I might as well save you. And- and it was stupid, and I was stupid, and I know that you'll never be able to forgive me, but please know that I never wanted any harm to you", Padmé blurted out. 

"Padmé, no. We both made mistakes. But if you just tried to protect us.. then I'm the one that's been stupid. I just.. assumed you'd done it because of personal pleasure or something. I used to see everything so black and white, I didn't believe in redemption or second chances.. I thought that when you mess something up, you're done. But that was stupid, I did stupid things too but never blamed myself for them. All the things I said about you were lies. You're not a monster, I'm the monster. Thinking I'm the perfect light child that our parents wanted, when the reality is that you're the one they're happier with. I just.. got so obsessed with the stories of great-uncle Luke and I thought that the force would only be balanced if the light side was dominant, even though that's the opposite of what mom's been telling us. Of course I forgive you, but the question is.. can you forgive me? For being selfish and arrogant?" 

Anakin breathed rapidly, he'd spoken too quickly. He'd meant all he'd just said, and felt the tears stinging in his eyes. He couldn't just start weeping here, not in front of everyone. But looking at the joyful expression on Padmé's face made him not care.

"Oh Ani, of course I forgive you! You're my brother.. And I love you."

Padmé extended out her hand. Anakin stared at it, raising his own hand but curling his fingers in. 

"Join me, Anakin. Let's bring a new order to the galaxy."

Slowly, gently, her brother reached out his hand and touched hers. When they touched, it felt like a million barriers between them had broken down. No longer were there wall keeping them separate, they were now in balance.

"I love you too, sister."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uggghhhh this is so short! The next chapter will be the epilogue, so it should be a bit longer. Anyways, I hope you liked, leave a comment and a kudos if you did!


	7. Chapter 7

Epilogue

 

"No, you got to do it like this! Just extend out your hand and focus on the force. Can you feel it?"

The little Bimm girl looked into his eyes, and nodded confidently. She extended the hand, closed her eyes and breathed. Calmly. Anakin could feel his smile deepening. Finally! After so many years, he was finally a Gray Jedi Master. And now he had his own padawan! He couldn't wait to tell the Bimm girl (whose name was Seiske, he guessed) all about Luke Skywalker and all the adventures he himself had had with his sister. 

And as if she'd heard that, suddenly Padmé was next to him, looking smug with her braided bun and dressed in gray. Anakin didn't even notice until she was right next to him and spoke.

"Well, brother, is having a padawan as cool as you thought it to be?" she whispered, startling him. He turned to her.

"Shh! Padmé, she's trying to focus!" he whispered back, slightly annoyed. But the smirk his sister gave him made him sigh and smile back.

"But okay fine, yeah, it's pretty awesome. She listens to EVERYTHING I say. Can you imagine? Someone listening to ME? Now that is unheard of."

"Oh please. You always got what you wanted as a kid, so don't paint yourself to be the victim."

"Not as much as you! You were daddy's little dark side princess!"

"Shut up!" Padmé said jokingly. 

Seiske opened her right eye slightly and giggled at the siblings' childish bickering. Padmé turned to her and gave her the brightest of smiles. 

"Hello, Seiske! How has my brother been teaching you? Horribly, right?"

Seiske laughed, and Anakin looked at Padmé, pretending to be offended.

"Yeah.." the Bimm girl whispered shyly, barely looking her master in the eye.

"Hey! I just started a few days ago, you can't blame me!" he argued. 

"I'm kidding, master Anakin. You're doing great."

Anakin gave Padmé a triumphant smile. Padmé huffed and rolled her eyes. 

"You wanna see my padawan?" she challenged. 

Anakin glanced at Seiske to make sure she was fine.

"You okay if I leave you for a second?"

The girl nodded, closed her eyes and meditated. Anakin could feel himself feeling so proud of her. Padmé grabbed his hand and pulled him with her, taking him almost to the other side of the island. As big as Ach-To was, the new Gray Jedi school was spread all across it. 

"Here! There is my padawan, his name is Muteh. Look how he's training!"

Anakin saw a little togruta boy was training with a helmet on. He swung the lightsaber around blindly, but Padmé claimed he was doing much better than yesterday. Anakin thought he would not have wanted to see Muteh when he was doing bad in Padmé's opinion.

"Where's mom?" Anakin asked.

"She's telling the older padawans stories of us", Padmé replied and walked over to Muteh. The boy lifted his helmet so he could see her and smiled.

Anakin stared at the younglings, all very excited to be taught by such great Gray Jedi knights. He could see Nova teaching a bunch of padawans how to fight with lightsabers. He was proud of her. Now that the galaxy was safe again, he was beginning to give himself the permission to maybe fall in love with her. It couldn't hurt, right?

Peace had been reached 3 years ago. Anakin had found the Gray side with Padmé and restored the peace. The Dark Kingdom had fallen, and the siblings had restarted the Gray Jedi school with their parents. Now a bunch of different species and races of Gray Jedis would soon graduate and start teaching among Rey, Ben, Anakin, Padmé and Nova. They all lived on Ach-To. Anakin was proud of himself. He could finally see the world as not as black and white as he used to. He knew that sometimes people deserve and even need second chances and that you shouldn't believe in extreme evilness or goodness. Because everyone is a mix of them. Nobody is perfect. But we all can try our best. And maybe we'll succeed.

"I would say he's done a pretty good job."

Anakin turned around. In front of him, he saw the force ghosts of Luke, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Qui-Gon and Mace Windu. They all stared at him and looked very pleased.

"Ah! Grunkle Luke! Great-grandfather Anakin! And all you other Jedis! Wh-what are you doing here?" 

"We're rating you. I think you've succeeded in finding the Gray side very well. What do you think, master Qui-Gon?" spoke Obi-Wan. 

"In my opinion, he shouldn't have used Luke's image to his own advantage. But other than that, when he brushed off the arrogance, I think he makes a very great Jedi", said Qui-Gon. 

Anakin's smile deepened. 

"Ten points, give you I would" Yoda said, and hummed. 

"So.. are you proud of me?"Anakin asked carefully.

"Of course, great-grandson! I would be proud of anyone who's named after me, myself and I!" 

Obi-Wan hit the back of ghost Anakin's head. The man shrieked. He turned to look at his old master.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Didn't we just talk of arrogance?" 

"Psh.. Whatever."

"Anyways, of course. We're all proud of you", Luke said and smiled.

"A great person, your sister is too" Yoda added.

"Ah yes, Padmé. Named after your wife, Skywalker. You must be proud", Mace Windu joined the conversation.

"You bet I am! And she is so beautiful and I am so proud of her too!"

"We are so proud of you both", Qui-Gon said.

"And your parents", Mace Windu added.

"Thank you.. so much."

"Ani, who are you talking to?" 

Rey stared at her son, with an unsure expression on her face. Anakin turned to her and smiled, tears streaming on his face. Rey gasped and put her hand on his cheek.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

"I'm better than I have ever been."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I really wanted to add the drawings I made of Anakin and Padmé but I couldn't figure it out.. If you know how to do that, please comment and let me know! Anyways, the story's over now. I originally planned for this to only be a one-shot where Anakin kills Padmé and realizes how far dark he's gone without even noticing it, but then I thought maybe the story shouldn't be so... well, dark. I hope you liked! If you did, I have many other Reylo stories so go check them out! Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> This will be contuined. Thanks for reading, leave a comment and a kudos if you liked! (Also, if you found the song reference, you deserve my respect.)


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